The most obvious one of all! 2012 will be an incredible year for anyone starting a business as there is so much support and many services available to you....

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Enterprise Nation has helped thousands of people start and grow their businesses. Led by founder, Emma Jones CBE, Enterprise Nation connects you to the resources and expertise to help you succeed.

The year of the start

start here

We're hours off from welcoming in a New Year and I wonder if it's got you thinking about what you will start to make it your year. Here are some options.Start a business

The most obvious one of all! 2012 will be an incredible year for anyone starting a business as there is so much support and many services available to you. Turn your passion, hobby or skill into a way of making a living by starting with a business plan, making a first sale and promoting it to everyone! Enterprise Nation can help through our 

 which is tailor made for the start up of 2012!

Expand your business overseas and into dynamic markets via your website, word of mouth referrals or agents/distributors. In the lead-up to our Go Global events in November 2011 we discovered that 67% of Enterprise Nation visitors are going global within their first 2 years of trading - is this new year the time for you to do the same? Help is on hand via the free 

 and a series of events we'll be announcing in January.

There's never been a more cost effective time to experiment and innovate; to try new routes to market or put quirky promotion into practice. You can test at low cost and in quick time. Make the most of resources like 

 to keep on top of trends and if you're interested in how your business could make the most of mobile, do try and hear Cate Trotter's 

 which will bring you new business ideas, offbeat ways of doing things, and, in the words of our editor, "

the great stuff that makes you smile and makes you think."

Resolve this year to focus on what you do best and outsource the rest. In my view, this is simply the best way to grow a business. Are you a dab hand at securing sales? Then outsource to and partner with others who can focus on production, marketing and admin. It takes time to find the perfect partner but there are great pools of talent at our disposal via sites including 

. Please watch out for the Marketplace coming to Enterprise Nation in January which we've designed to help you grow the business by sub-contracting as opposed to hiring staff.

May I finish by wishing you the most successful year in business in 2012. I have a strong feeling it's going to be a good one for those starting, innovating, exporting and growing. Let's show the UK what we small business owners can do! Happy New Year from the Enterprise Nation crew and please let us know what you'll be starting in the New Year, in the comments below. 

Emma Jones is founder of Enterprise Nation

<p>As Enterprise Nation's small business community manager, my role is to guide our members through every stage of their user journey, developing and improving their experience within the Enterprise Nation community, and arming them with the knowledge and resources they need to start and grow their business.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>I have over 20 years of experience working in customer and B2B support. Having also managed a small business for many years, I understand the struggles that they face am passionate about helping them grow. I love to hear member success stories, particularly those in the food and drink sector.&nbsp;</p>

Small Business Community Manager

Meet three Enterprise Nation members putting sustainability at the heart of their growth

Sustainability is key to these members’ ambitions.

&lt;p&gt;I'm the founder of The Digital Index, a data focused consultancy offering small business data support. As a data and insights analyst with 6+ years experience I have seen that small busines&amp;nbsp;are sitting on huge potential with their data and I want to help with easy, simple data analysis so small business can make the best business decisions.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Because every small business has the potential to make smart data-driven decisions that ensure you save money, exceed goals and save time.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;I have strong expertise in data collection, analysis, visualisation and insights, spanning across all sectors. I can help businesses at any stage, from those starting out that&amp;nbsp;have no idea where to begin with data, to those who already have their data pot, but aren't quite sure what to do with it.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

Director and Data Analyst

Data Analysis for Small Business

This group is for those wanting to become a more data-driven business, or those already utilising their data for decisions.

This group is here to support, guide and help, so please ask questions about data use in your business and provide support to others where you can.

&lt;p&gt;I left the City in 2016 when it became clear that life with small children and a full-time executive career wasn’t for me. &amp;nbsp;I wanted to create something that really helped people, like me, who were forging a way forward, balancing work with family life.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;When my children went to school I realised there were many highly talented individuals unable to return to work due to the limitations of childcare. &amp;nbsp;I also started to meet a number of exciting small&amp;nbsp;businesses in need of support but were struggling to find an appropriate level of flexibility, quality and knowledge for their growing businesses.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This developed into a passion for building a solution for both sides. &amp;nbsp;A truly supportive working environment where people can thrive outside a classic 9-5 office structure whist providing reliable, high calibre support to businesses and individuals looking to achieve more productivity and peace of mind.&amp;nbsp;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;SpareMyTime was born!&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Founder

Bespoke Virtual administrative support for you and your business

&lt;p&gt;At SpareMyTime,&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;we&amp;rsquo;re passionate about balance&lt;/strong&gt;. From time-consuming life admin to business tasks, outsource your to-do list to a trusted pair of hands and focus on what&amp;rsquo;s important.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Our team of professional UK based virtual assistants offer admin support, bookkeeping, marketing and social media services so you can bid overwhelm goodbye and find peace of mind.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;From diary and inbox 

I am the Co-Founder Jampot Business support. We work with entrepreneurs, small businesses and startups supporting them with everything from EA to HR, Marketing to Finance/Accountancy, Web & Graphic Design to Legal Consultancy and all on a here-when-you-need-us basis.

The year of the start

We're hours off from welcoming in a New Year and I wonder if it's got you thinking about what you will start to make it your year. Here are some options.Start a business

Start to Go Global

Start to experiment

Start to grow

Start to finish

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